Lynas hit by Malaysia waste ultimatum

Philip Wen and Glenda Kwek

LYNAS says the legal status of its controversial rare-earths refinery remains intact despite the company being forced into its fourth trading halt in a month, after the Malaysian government called on the miner to dispose of all the plant's waste.

Executive chairman Nick Curtis said the company called the halt to prevent volatility in the share price and to clear the ''noise'' that was being generated by being kicked around as a ''political football'' in Malaysia before the country's hotly contested election. Trading is expected to resume on Wednesday.

The halt was called on Tuesday morning after four Malaysian government ministers put out a strongly worded joint statement late on Monday reiterating the requirement that Lynas remove all radioactive residue from its Kuantan processing plant, or face having its temporary licence revoked. ''The government will not compromise the health and safety of the people and the environment in dealing with the issue of Lynas,'' they said.

It followed reports in Malaysia's Chinese-language media that Lynas' local managing director, Mashal Ahmad, had said waste from the Kuantan plant could not be exported because of international laws. But Lynas said the reports were inaccurate and that it would convert the residue into a commercially safe building product called synthetic aggregate, which would be exported if not allowed to remain in Malaysia.

''There is no legal impediment, no change in our legal status with respect to the operations, we continue to commission the plant … nothing that has been said in this statement has any impact on the prior legal approvals we've had,'' Mr Curtis said on Tuesday.

Shares in Lynas have plunged more than 60 per cent since February as a result of extended delays and uncertainty over the project.

Legal challenges by Malaysian activists concerned about the environmental impact of the processing plant have resulted in repeated trading halts. The shares last traded at 60.5¢.

Shares in Lynas' closest rival, the US-based Molycorp, surged 20 per cent in New York on the news.